Seeing the Moonlight
by Andboriel Swann
Summary: Lily knows that her new friend Remus has a secret. A secret that he doesn't want her to know. How will Lily react when she accidently discovers Remus' secret? RemusLily!Friendship The newest part of the Moonlight Series!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, as much as I might wish I did.

Author's Note: Okay, I've officially decided that I'm going to be writing a series of oneshots. My first story _Fighting the Moonlight_ is part of it, and so is this. I believe that during their time at Hogwarts, that Lily and Remus would have been really good friends. This is NOT a Lily/Remus romance series; it is based purely around their friendship. As for how this ties into _Fighting the Moonlight_, it goes into how Lily found out about Remus' secret.

Seeing the Moonlight

I worry too much. My friends tell me that I need to calm down and take a deep breath, except that's usually when I'm losing my temper. It's not my fault that I was born with red hair _and_ got a temper to match! Honestly, I do manage to control myself. Most of the time.

"Okay Lily, calm down and breathe. Everything's fine, there's nothing wrong," So what if I talk to myself? It's not like I'm insane or anything. Well, maybe a little bit, but who isn't the tiniest bit crazy? If you believed whatever Petunia said, you'd probably think I was a psychopath! I guess I can add over-reacting to my lists of problems. As well as getting off topic.

Remus has become one of my best friends since I've arrived at Hogwarts. Before I came here, I never met a boy who actually enjoyed reading! Or didn't avoid girls like the plague. It's always fun talking to Remus. After all, I don't know anyone else who's read the _Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_. Now that I think of it, very few people I've met have read muggle fiction. They don't know what they're missing out on.

At my old school, everyone teased me for being a bookworm, but Remus and Alice never have. It's absolutely insane! I've know Remus and Alice for four months and they're already the siblings I've always dreamed of. I might be related to Petunia, but other than that she is not my sister.

Like I said, I worry too much. Remus is always getting sick. I know he says that he's going to visit his "sick" mother, but why is he always so pale when he leaves? And if you're going to visit your family, doesn't it make more sense to leave on a weekend, not during the school week? Whenever I ask, he changes the subject, but all that does is make me worry even more! There's something going on. He has a secret that he doesn't want me to know.

But, this secret of his isn't the only reason I worry about him. We were practicing charms a few days ago, and he managed the shrinking charm perfectly. Well, almost perfectly, it was the shirt he was wearing that shrunk.

I'm no expert on what boys' chests should look like, but I'm pretty sure that most of them aren't covered with scars.

It's too late to worry. I should be asleep right now. I'm only eleven years old, for Merlin's sake! But I guess I've always been too serious for my age. Probably because I preferred my books than feeling "odd" while playing with other kids my own age. If I don't go to sleep soon, I bet I won't sleep at all the entire night!

I was doing my Defense assignment in the library the other day. We had to write about vampires. All the information I needed was in this book on dark creatures. Anyways, I got done early and just skimmed through the book. I may like reading, but that doesn't mean I hate books with pictures!

One picture stood out to me. It was a werewolf during its transformation. I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl and that scared me. What would it be like to be forced into becoming something else? After the picture, there was a list of signs on recognizing werewolves. It said that before the full moon, werewolves tend to suffer from fatigue. It also said that werewolves hurt themselves once transformed.

But, there are definitely other reasons why Remus always gets tired once a month, and his body is scarred. There's no way that Remus could be a werewolf.

"Lily, shouldn't you be asleep now? I could have sworn you were going on at me earlier about how it's impossible to pass a test of any sort without any sleep. And, lo and behold! There is a charms test tomorrow." Alice smiled at me.

"I know, Alice, I know," I gave her a sheepish grin. "I was just thinking."

"Well, if you're going to think, you might as well do it when it's not dark. Open the curtains! I could have tripped over you and hurt myself! Why are you on the floor?"

"I'd fall asleep if I was thinking on my bed," and I would. It would be so easy to curl into those delightfully soft pillows and tuck myself under those warm sheets, but for now, I had to focus.

Alice just gave me one of her looks. It was the "Lily, you need some help" look, and tugged the curtains open.

The full moon glared at me.

Remus was gone on a full moon.

The moon cycle repeated about every twenty-nine days. I counted backwards in my head. Remus was gone every single one of those days. Could it just be a coincidence? Was Remus a werewolf?

"Lily?" Alice looked at me. She sounded worried.

"I'm fine. I'll just get some sleep."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. I don't want to fail that test tomorrow. G'night, Alice," I mumbled before stumbling into my bed.

Even after I tugged the bed-curtains shut, I couldn't stop thinking. After talking about how dangerous werewolves were, the book talked about all the restrictions placed on them.

I could picture that list in my mind. All the laws repeated themselves in my head, parading around my will to sleep.

_Werewolves must be registered._

_Werewolves cannot be married._

_Werewolves cannot have children._

_Werewolves must be killed if they harm a human._

The list went on and on. I couldn't stop worrying.

What if Remus was a werewolf? It would explain his shyness. His parents might have kept him away from other kids, or maybe he was afraid his friends would be afraid of him.

I kept thinking of all the signs I'd seen. I was nearly positive that it was true. I remembered the time I'd worn one of my mother's sliver rings. Remus and I'd been partnered together in Potions. He'd flinched after I'd touched him. The small scar from burn was still there, if I remembered correctly.

_Werewolves are allergic to silver._

Remus was a werewolf. The little river called "Denial" was drying up. Poor Remus. The pictures looked so painful. How could he go through that every month? Why wouldn't he tell me?

But I already knew why. Remus was afraid that I would be scared. Was I?

No. I pitied Remus. I was upset he didn't trust me, but I couldn't blame him. It wasn't as if he'd asked to be a werewolf. I bet very few people would want to. Why couldn't the Ministry of Magic do better things, like look for a cure, instead of finding ways to abuse werewolves?

Remus was, _is_, my best friend, and nothing was going to change that. Nothing.

After all, it was only a few nights out of a month that Remus transformed, and he had no choice. Remus would rather die then hurt someone. I'd learned that Remus was very compassionate. He always took the time to talk to the owl that delivered his mail. How many people actually cared that much about animals?

My best friend was a werewolf. It would take some getting used to, but I wouldn't let anything change the friendship I have with Remus.

A sliver of moonlight poked through the curtains. How could something so beautiful cause so much pain?

I peeked out of my bed and wandered towards the window. Alice was asleep by now, and our other dorm-mates liked staying up late on the weekends.

Somewhere out in the night, I knew Remus was in pain, trapped in a body he couldn't control, fighting the urges of the wolf.

Biting my lip, I tried not to cry. Why Remus? Why did something so bad have to happen to so nice a person?

I wiped my eyes. The silver ring on my finger reflected the moonlight. I would have to find something to do about it. I couldn't wear jewelry that might hurt Remus. He'd already been through so much.

I'll have to buy a necklace chain for it over break. That way, it's less likely to hurt Remus.

The thought of Christmas was enough to put my mind at ease. I crept back to my bed and slipped under the covers. Remus had a sweet tooth: he was always eating chocolate. I wondered if he would like Muggle chocolate? At least I'd now thought of a good Christmas gift for him. Lots and lots of chocolate.

Remus might not want to tell me his "secret", so I would just have to pretend that I didn't know. When he comes back tomorrow and tells me his mother's doing all right, I'll give him a big hug. He'll think it's because I'm happy his mother is okay, but I'll know it's my way of helping him.

All I can do is wait until Remus is ready. Who knows what that'll happen? It's probably a good thing that I already mother-hen my friends. Remus won't realize that I've figured out his secret.

Knowing Remus' secret won't stop me from worrying, but now I'll be able to keep an eye on him. And if someone else finds out and hurts Remus' feeling, I'll be right there to help Remus know that at least one of his friends doesn't care about him being a werewolf.

A/N: Done! Lucky for you dear readers, I remembered this story. I was going to type up another of the Moonlight Series one-shots (coming soon!) when I found this half-finished fic. I hope you don't mind that Lily doesn't sound like she's eleven years old, but think of her as a Hermione with Ginny's attitude, if that helps.

I would love to hear your comments, and any advice about how to 11-year-old-ize language, because there's one more part of the series that involves the young Lily and Remus. Thanks!


	2. The Day After

Disclaimer: See the first chapter: it's not mine, even if I put it on my Christmas list.

Author's Note: This was originally supposed to be a one-shot story, but I may expand on some of my original one-shots, including this. At least, make them long enough to tell what happens between the different episodes of the Moonlight Series. There will be no future chapters to this story because I designed it to end with a suitable transition to another of the series: Fighting the Moonlight.

I don't plan on abandoning the series after I finish all the parts I'd originally planned out. If anyone has ideas for episodes of Remus and Lily's friendship, I'll take them into consideration when planning future stories or additions to current stories.

The Day After

It was just after dawn when Lily woke up. Though she was normally an early riser, she was awake earlier than normal.

Her sleep hadn't come easily, as her mind kept worrying about her friend, Remus.

The full moon had finally ended and Remus was coming back. She knew she'd have to listen to his excuses about his "sick mother," and pretend she didn't know.

Could she pretend she didn't know his secret?

Groaning, Lily thrust off her covers and started gathering her clothes. Without waking up her dorm-mates, she managed to get her skirt, socks and shoes on without a problem. It was after she buttoned up her blouse that she realized she what had gone wrong. One, she was off by a button and her shirt was now uneven, and two, it was inside out.

Lily found her way to the bathroom where she fixed her shirt. Furiously, she ran her heavy brush through her hair and nearly threw it into the mirror when she saw her hair was frizzier than normal.

Taking a deep breath, she wet the brush before running it through her hair again. This time, her hair complied and she formed a manageable ponytail.

She sighed, sometimes her hair was like her temper: long and out of control. Hopefully she wouldn't take any of it out on Remus today.

The thought of Remus reminded her of her predicament: how would she treat Remus?

She wasn't sure that she pitied him; she felt pity would be worse then anger. She supposed that she admired him for going through so much.

Lily grabbed one of her books before heading down to the common room; it was much too early for breakfast to be served.

After opening the cover of the book, she scowled. Here she was, trying to relax and Potter had to ruin it! Why did he have to _write_ in her book? Just because he was taller than her and she was one of the shortest people in their class didn't give him the right to call her a midget!

Turning to another page, she immersed herself in the theory behind charms and spells. Charms was her favorite class; already, Lily found herself bored with the "easy" material and tried (successfully) working on third and fourth year incantations. She was currently learning about the theory behind the spells they covered in NEWT level classes; she wasn't magically strong enough to cast them herself, but she wanted to know how they worked.

Sometimes, when she couldn't cast the spells that were too advanced for her, she modified them so she could use them. She wasn't sure if it would be considered making a new spell, but she enjoyed changing parts of the spells she knew, just to find out what would happen.

She was just learning about the spell _ Evanesco _when her book was grabbed out of her hands.

"What have we here? You shouldn't read so much, Evans, it's bad for your eyes."

"Then, why are you the one with glasses, Potter?" she spat.

"Come on, James. Let's get breakfast. I'm hungry," Sirius, James' partner-in-crime, interrupted.

"Yeah, I think that we're supposed to have bacon today!" Peter, the slightly-plump friend interjected.

Condescendingly, James quipped, "Well, who are we to stand between you and your breakfast, Peter?"

Sirius pointed towards the door, "Breakfast is this way, James. Just give Evans her book back and save us the grief Remus will give us when he gets back."

James laughed, "Remus couldn't hurt a fly if he tried."

He tossed her book back at her, nearly hitting her on the head. Lily glared at their retreating forms. How dare they underestimate Remus?

But she knew they were right.

Remus would never want to see anyone hurt. Ever. Maybe it was because he was afraid of the werewolf? What would it be like, to be afraid of yourself?

Why couldn't Remus trust her with this secret? Was he afraid she'd stop being his friend? Lily scoffed, that was completely ridiculous, but did Remus see it that way? She groaned and decided to worry about that later.

"Come on, Lily. Breakfast!" Alice yelled in her ears, "You know, the "most important meal of the day," the one you keep telling me not to miss?"

Lily pouted, "Stop using my words against me,"

"But it's so much fun!"

"Can you be not so hyper this early?"

"You've been up for hours. Aren't you awake yet?"

"Spoilsport," Lily muttered as she followed Alice to breakfast.

"You ready for the charms test today?" Alice asked.

"Yeah, do you need me to help you study?"

"I think I'm good, but if you could just quiz me over a few things…"

"No problem."

Their leisurely breakfast continued with Alice searching her brain for answers and Lily helping Alice to think through the problems.

Theirs was a unique friendship, just as special as her friendship with Remus, Lily thought. Lily helped Alice with Charms and Alice helped Lily in Herbology. They mixed well and could sit in comfortable silence for hours, though they often got bored and talked about senseless things. While Lily looked to Remus for sensible conversations, Alice helped Lily relax.

She tried not to compare her two friends. They were both her family away from home, her chosen siblings.

Breakfast passed all too quickly and the girls headed to their charms class, both feeling confident about the exam. After Professor Flitwick passed out the anti-cheating exams they got to work. Lily finished her exam well before time was up and was sent back to her seat to work quietly until the bell. The next class was transfiguration: Remus always came back during that period. She used to think it was because he disliked charms, but now she suspected that he needed to rest and have Madame Pompfry look at him.

Alice dragged Lily out of Charms as soon as the bell rang, relief evident on her face, "That wasn't too bad, was it? At least McGonagall isn't giving us a test before the holidays."

"I can't wait to go home and see my parents again, you?"

"I would say I miss my brothers, but I see them everyday. I'm excited about having no school and eating my mom's cooking again, not that Hogwarts' food is bad it just-"

"Isn't home." Lily finished.

Transfiguration was the one class they were never late for, not because they chose to be early, but because they had to. Other teachers would let a few stray minutes slip by, but McGonagall never let anyone miss her class.

Remus was already there, waiting for class to start when the two girls arrived. Potter, Black and Pettigrew weren't there yet, so he was all alone.

"Remus!" Lily practically squealed and threw herself at her friend.

"Hi Lily," Remus asked, puzzled by his friend's strange behavior, "did something happen?"

"Nope! I'm just glad to see that you, I mean your mother, is all right." Lily rushed, blushing faintly at her slight slip.

"She's doing better. I'll probably visit her again next month," and Lily bet she could predict the day, all she had to do was find a lunar chart…

"It's a shame you missed the Charms exam, it was really easy,"

"You have a different idea of easy, Lily."

"So?"

"Never mind. Have you seen Sirius, James or Peter today?"

"Yeah, they'll probably show up any minute now. I still don't see how you can stand them."

"With lots of practice."

Lily grinned then followed Alice to their favorite seats: away from the trouble-making Gryffindors.

Right as the bell rang, three boys rushed in with Professor McGonagall right behind them. They rushed towards the seats Remus had saved around him and welcomed their friend back.

McGonagall's roll-call brought some order to the chaotic first years, but not enough to temper Potter and Black's enthusiasm.

Alice and Lily exchanged looks when McGonagall finally gained control with her patented displeased-teacher glare.

Everything was normal, Lily thought as she began taking notes, except it wasn't. She now knew for certain that one of her best friends was a werewolf. How would that change their friendship?

Would it change their friendship? All Lily felt when she saw Remus wasn't pity; she felt concerned. Remus had to bottle up this secret. She could see how tired he was and she was worried, again.

But she didn't fear him. He was still her almost-brother. He was still Remus, and even if he thought she wouldn't understand if he told her, she did. She just hoped that his friends would react as well when the inevitable happened and they found out.


End file.
